The COVID-19 outbreak is disrupting the economy, including real estate, and some agencies are worried about what the future holds.
Real estate deals are being put on hold, agents are giving virtual tours to try and sell property, and now, even apartment landlords have cause for concern.
Corporate Office Properties Trust Director of Asset Management, James Lomax, said, "The first month everybody kind of didn't think there would be an impact. April has come and a lot of the rents have been paid for April, but the requests to landlords to defer rent is starting to come in a little bit more."
Lomax says the rise in unemployment is playing a big role.
"Huntsville overall had one of its best years last year in commercial real estate. The office market is like 97% occupied in Class A office space, really low vacancy rates," said Lomax. "Then all of a sudden this kind of comes in, some people have to get furloughed or even laid off in some instances, and it just creates an uncertainty of how are we going to move forward."
Lomax believes the pandemic will have a lasting impact on the way people manage their buildings.
"Since day one of this coronavirus scare, it's been a panic of is my landlord cleaning the building the way they need to be. Do we have people spraying down these spaces during the day, so we've had to take a hard look at what we normally do and I think that will carry on into the future," said Lomax.
Another concern is construction of new buildings being delayed due to an outbreak at a construction site.
Lomax says employers value the benefits of having a functional work space and believes commercial real estate will bounce back once this is all over.